Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peikin, the new Co-Directors of the U.S. SEC Enforcement Division (“Division”), released a report on November 15, 2017, summarizing the Division’s enforcement activity for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017 (“the Annual Report”). The SEC Co-Directors stated that “[w]hile we necessarily police a broad landscape and have numerous areas of focus, at a high level, our decision making is guided by five core principles.” The Annual Report identified these core principles as:

Focusing on the Main Street investor.

Focusing on individual accountability.

Keeping pace with technological change.

Imposing sanctions that most effectively further enforcement goals.

Constantly assessing the allocation of resources.

After discussing these principles, the Annual Report described the Division’s recent initiatives and offered a broad summary of the SEC’s enforcement trends over the past year.